Donatella Versace is no stranger to look-at-me clothes, but the designer took her sexed-up style to a whole new level in kicking off Paris Couture on Sunday night with the Atelier Versace show.

Models Joan Smalls, Mariacarla Boscono, and Natasha Poly stepped out on to the runway in dresses so daring and fierce—and bare!— evening looks. Versace twisted and slashed the most delicate silk fabric, piecing the strips together with crystal-studded ropes, giving notions of a very chic shipwrecked woman. And while you know full on that Versace is known for its figure-celebrating, skin-centric dresses (especially when it comes to couture), it's worth looking at these pieces from an artisan's standpoint. While they may look effortless, these dresses are anything but.

The patterns, the details, the balance, is all part and parcel of the rarefied world of couture, where each handmade look can fetch well into the six digits. Are we asking you to buy these? Of course not (but for those of you who won Powerball, go ahead and think about it, OK?), but pay heed to the craftsmanship that we only get to see twice a year at the couture shows. The January shows are especially interesting, as red carpet stars like Jennifer Lopez and Taylor Swift are searching for the perfect Grammy and Oscar gowns (we love the black-and-white number below for La Lopez and Swift would look phenomenal in the jumpsuit/dress hybrid!).

We'll be bringing you the best and brightest from Paris Couture all week long, so stay tuned for dramatic dresses and even more flashbulb-popping front-row celebs. Speaking of celebs, kudos to Rita Ora, who wore the orange Atelier Versace cutout number to the show before it was even seen on the runway. How it stayed up, well, that's all Donatella.